I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the transportation industry and more particularly to a method and apparatus for automatically creating and maintaining driver activity logs for vehicle operators.
II. Description of the Related Art
Truck drivers across the United States presently operate under regulations promulgated by the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). The DOT and FHWA regulate many aspects of the transportation industry ranging from vehicle maintenance to substance abuse. One of the more important areas that the DOT and FHWA monitor is the occurrence of truck-related accidents and ways to reduce the number of such accidents.
Driver fatigue has been cited by the DOT and FHWA as being one of the primary causes of truck-related accidents. Consequently, the FHWA has adopted regulations that limit the number of hours that truck drivers may operate a vehicle over a given time period. For example, the DOT prohibits any driver from driving a commercial vehicle in excess of 10 hours after 8 hours of rest.
To ensure compliance with these safety regulations, the FHWA also requires drivers to keep detailed written records of the number of hours driving, on-duty but not driving, resting, and off-duty. Drivers must provide daily updates into a logbook carried with the driver, detailing the number of hours spent in each of the four categories mentioned above. Other information may be required as well, such as the location of where the log book entry occurred, a vehicle identification number, the name of the nearest city at the time of a logbook entry, and so on. A driver must make entries into the log book each time he/she begins driving, stops driving, starts or ends an xe2x80x9con-duty but not operating the vehiclexe2x80x9d state, and starting or ending a xe2x80x9crestxe2x80x9d state. Drivers must chart their hours and activities every day by drawing lines on a grid in the log book and calculating the number of hours driving, on-duty but not driving, resting, and off duty, over a twenty four hour period.
Federal officials periodically inspect driver logbooks at weigh stations and other locations to certify that they have been kept up-to-date by the driver, and that the driver is following the FHWA mandated regulations. If a driver is found to be out of compliance with the FHWA regulations, he or she will not be permitted to continue driving until the proper amount of off-duty or rest time has elapsed. This results in late deliveries to customers and general inefficiency for the driver""s employer. The driver is also penalized because the mandated xe2x80x9crestxe2x80x9d time affects the hours that he/she is able to work. If a number of violations occur over a given time period, substantial fines may be levied against the driver and/or employers.
The logbooks are a nuisance for drivers to fill out and keep current. Consequently, entries are often neglected until well after the time they were supposed to be entered. This may result in erroneous entries, since the driver must rely on memory as to the timing of recordable events. Inaccurate entries into the logbook may be discovered during an audit of the carrier""s records by FHWA officials months, or even years, later.
The logbooks are also susceptible to intentional misrepresentation by vehicle operators. Commercial vehicle operators are sometimes paid by the number of loads delivered, so there is a great incentive for operators to intentionally under-report the hours that they have driven, or to over-report the number of rest hours between driving periods.
What is needed is a way to ensure compliance with safety regulations without the problems associated with the present method for doing so.
It is an object of the present invention to automatically create and maintain driver log records for vehicle operators without the vehicle operator having to fill out complex logbooks and chart their activities.
It is a further object of the present invention to reduce the inconvenience to vehicle operators having to manually record and calculate work hours and activities in a logbook and to keep the logbook up to date.
It is yet another object of the present invention to reduce the number of deliberate and inadvertent safety violations by vehicle operators.
It is still a further object of the present invention to improve driver retention and recruitment by decreasing the chances of problematic roadside inspections and reducing the delays associated with such inspections.
It is still another object of the present invention to allow carriers to track operator hours worked and operator hours available to haul other loads. Carriers can monitor these hours, identify load delivery problems, and make adjustments for on-time delivery, such as swapping loads with other vehicle operators who have available hours.
It is another object of the present invention to keep shippers apprised of load delivery schedules. Carriers can more closely determine a vehicle operator""s ability to meet delivery schedules based on hours worked and the hours available for vehicle operation.
The present invention is a system and method for automatically creating and maintaining driver activity logs, eliminating the need for vehicle operators to manually record and calculate this data.
In a first embodiment of the present invention, driver activity logs are created and maintained at a central station. Vehicle operators are in communication with the central station using a mobile communication terminal located on a vehicle. The mobile communication terminal allows the vehicle operator to send messages from the vehicle to a central station and to report the location of the vehicle. Messages are generally sent by the vehicle operator upon the occurrence of predefined events, such as arrival or departure from a consignee, or the start and end of a driving shift. In the exemplary embodiment, each message allows the central station to determine the position of the vehicle at the time that messages were transmitted. Messages and position information are received by the central station where a vehicle operator driving state is determined, based on the message type, the current position of the vehicle, a current date and time that the current vehicle position was determined, a previous vehicle position, and a previous date and time that the previous vehicle position was determined. A current log record is then created, or a previous log record is updated to reflect an extension of the driving state in the previous driving record. A driver activity log is generated upon request by the vehicle operator or by authorized personnel at the central station or a host station. The driver active log is generated from previous log records and can be transmitted to the vehicle or displayed locally at the central station or host facility.
In a second embodiment of the present invention, driver active logs are created and maintained onboard a vehicle. Messages are entered by a vehicle operator into a mobile communication terminal for transmission. A position location device located onboard the vehicle provides a current vehicle position. In the exemplary embodiment, a current vehicle position is determined each time a message is transmitted by the mobile communication terminal, as well as at predetermined time intervals. Each time a message is transmitted, or a current vehicle position is determined, a current operator driving state is determined, based on the message type, the current position of the vehicle, a current date and time that the current vehicle position was determined, a previous vehicle position, and a previous date and time that the previous vehicle position was determined. A current log record is then created, or a previous log record is updated to reflect an extension of the driving state in the previous driving record. A driver activity log is generated upon request by the vehicle operator or by authorized personnel at the central station or a host facility. The driver active log is generated from previous log records and can be transmitted to the central station or host facility, or be displayed locally at the vehicle.